#particular redemption

1. Answ. Redemption is a Word that denotes Persons were in Slavery, or Bondage, for whom a Price is paid, and they therefore are set at Liberty: Suppose Ten Men were Slaves in Algier, and a Thousand Pound was paid down to Redeem them all, and yet but four were actually Redeemed, is it true to say all the Ten were Redeemed?

So here, Is it true to say, That the Redemption by Christ is Universal, when the greatest part of the World were never Redeemed, but remain under the Power of Sin and Satan? That Redemption which is by Jesus Christ, is from Sin, from the Guilt, Power, and Punishment thereof: And are all Men in the World thus Redeemed? 'Tis not a Redemption only from the Curse of the Law, and Wrath of God, but also fom all Iniquity; 'Who gave himself for us, that he might Redeem us from all Iniquity, and purifie unto himself a peculiar People, zealous of Good Works:' And are all thus Redeemed?

2. If Christ laid down his Life to Redeem every Man and Woman in the World, hath he his whole Purchase? A Man would think himself cheated, or strangely deceived, that laid down a Thousand Pounds to Redeem Ten Men, when he finds there are not above Three or Four indeed actually Redeemed; this renders Christ's Blood spilt in vain for the greatest part for whom it was shed, or whom he intended to Redeem thereby, and so he is deceived, or disappointed.

3. There can be no Universal Redemption, unless Christ were a Universal Redeemer, but Christ is not a Universal Redeemer, Millions of Souls are left under the Power of Sin, and dominion of Satan.

4. Will a Man lay down Ten Thousand Pounds, to purchase such or such an Estate, and will he refuse to part with Ten Pounds to take up that Estate to make it sure to himself?

Brethren, the Gift of Christ for us, i. e. his laying down his Life is far the greater Gift; and will he do this, and not give the Gospel to many Nations, nor Faith to believe and receive him, and yet died for them all? See how Paul argues, Rom. 5.10. Chap. 8.32.

5. Or would Jesus Christ die for the whole World, and yet refuse to pray for them, that they may all be saved? See Joh. 17.9. The Reprobate World he prayed not for; yet he prayed for all that should be saved: 'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their Words;' that World, Christ is a Propitiation for their Sins; or had made their Peace with God, for he died for—Even that World which he takes away the Sins of, he died for, and that All which he draws to himself by his Spirit, he died for on the Cross, he taketh away the Sin of the World by bearing it himself, or by satisfying for the Sins thereof; 'He was made Sin for us, that knew no Sin, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him:' He made a Plenary Satisfaction to the Justice of God, for the Sins of this whole World, and obtained plenary Remission and Grace by his Blood, that we might be Redeemed from a vain Conversation: The Elect, before Calling, are as much the World as any others; yea, and the best part of it too. Moreover, by A Metonomy [All] is put for a part, frequently in the Scripture. 'God so loved the World, that he gave his only Begotten Son;' that is, God so loved Sinful Mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, 'That whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting Life.'

"If in John 3:16, we are to understand by the world all mankind, how different is the language of other passages,-‐-"I never knew you." Were those whom he never knew, and to whom he will say, depart from me, the objects of God's love?

In proportion as men depart from just views of the Atonement, they approximate to those who, perverting the declaration that God is love, which is manifested by sending his Son into the world that his people might live through him,---represent this love as embracing all mankind, and issuing in universal salvation; which indeed is the necessary result of God's universal love. The world which God loved, is the world which shall be saved through faith in his Son,---the world to which he will not impute their trespasses,---a countless multitude of all nations, and kindred, and people's, and tongues."

James A. Haldane- Doctrine of the Atonement

Haldane nailed it concerning John 3:16. Many read it and assume that it teaches that Christ died for every person who will ever be born. But what about those Scriptures, such as Matt. 7:23 wherein Christ tells individuals to depart from him because HE NEVER KNEW THEM? If Christ had died for them, then certainly Christ would have known them in God's foreordained plan.

However, John 3:16 does not teach whom Christ died for but teaches that if you do A- believe, then you want receive B- perish. And the word 'believe' in the Greek is 'pisteuō' and means to have faith in. Those that have faith in God's Son will receive everlasting life.

If God is For Us

  In Romans 8:31, Paul asks his readers to begin to draw encouraging conclusions and he does so by asking a series of rhetorical questions intended to lead them to rejoice in the absolute certainty of their final glorification. It should not escape our attention that he does so, not by asking them to focus on a decision they have made but on the salvific work of the Triune God.

In that verse,…

Tweaking Calvinism: Universal Limited Atonement

I recently offered some proposals on some “less intense” (yet still Reformed) articulations of Calvinism (Intro;Pt.1;Pt.2). The election (of a different kind) derailed those posts for a bit, but I wanted to pick it up today, by talking about the most controversial of the “points” of Calvinism: Limited Atonement.

This is the most controversial of Calvinism’s points, but it’s also the most…